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Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, Washington, DC

Photo: NPS Photo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & OutdoorsOutdoor AdventureLocal Gem

Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens

Walk among ponds of lotus and water lilies and look for herons and beavers in Washington's largest remaining tidal marsh.

1550 Anacostia Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20019 · Washington, DC

About Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens began as W.B. Shaw's commercial lily ponds in 1912, and Congress bought them in 1938 to save them from river dredging. Today the National Park Service tends ponds of rare water lilies and lotus beside Kenilworth Marsh, the largest tidal marsh left in the city. Lotus blooms peak in the hot summer months, when the park holds its Lotus and Water Lily Festival. Bird watchers have logged 257 species here. Entry and parking are free, and Deanwood Metro station is about half a mile away.

  • #water lilies
  • #lotus
  • #wetlands
  • #bird watching
  • #national park service

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